The present invention relates to home theater equipment, and in particular, to devices for connecting between source devices, display devices, and wireless speakers.
Unless otherwise indicated herein, the approaches described in this section are not prior art to the claims in this application and are not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section.
A common component in home entertainment environments (home theater, home television, etc.) is an audio/video receiver (AVR). The AVR generally performs three functions. First, the AVR provides a connection point for multiple source devices, and the AVR is responsible for switching among the inputs. Second, the AVR performs amplification for wired speakers. Third, the AVR performs audio decoding and processing (e.g., surround sound processing, Dolby Pro Logic™ processing, Dolby Digital™ processing, Dolby TrueHD™ processing, etc.).
A recent development in home entertainment environments is media sticks. In general, a media stick provides a wired connection to a display device that displays the content (e.g., a television), and another connection (often wireless) to a source device that provides the content. A media stick generally has the form factor of a “dongle”, sized such that it can be easily grasped in-hand, and has one or more input, output and power supply interfaces. The interfaces of the media stick may be connected to cords or other wired connectors, or may have short corded portions that extend the interfaces beyond the body of the media stick. Media sticks may also be referred to as streaming sticks. A media stick may be controlled by a separate device, such as a dedicated remote control or an application on a mobile telephone.
Examples of media sticks include the Chromecast™ media stick from Google, Inc., the Fire TV Stick™ from Amazon, Inc., and the Roku Streaming Stick™ from Roku, Inc. The Chromecast™ media stick, for example, has a High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI™) output for connecting to the HDMI™ input of a television, a power input, and a wireless interface for interacting with a control application on a mobile phone and for receiving content. The Chromecast™ media stick may receive the content from a nearby device (e.g., a mobile telephone, a laptop computer, etc.) or may connect to a router and receive the content via the internet (e.g., from the YouTube™ website, from the HBO Go™ website, etc.).
Media sticks may be considered to fall within a subset of devices referred to as digital media players, digital media adapters, or micro-consoles. Other types of digital media players include devices in the form factor of set-top boxes (larger than dongles) that connect to a display device via a cable. Examples of these larger devices include the Apple TV™ from Apple, Inc., the Fire TV™ from Amazon, Inc., and the Roku Streaming Player™ from Roku, Inc.
Another type of device used in home entertainment environments may generally be referred to as a wireless connector. In general, wireless connectors function as “wireless cables” that may be used in place of a wired connection (cable) between media devices. For example, when a digital video disc (DVD) player is in one room and a television is in another room, a wireless connector may be used in place of a long HDMI™ cable. The wireless connector generally includes two components: a transmitter and a receiver. The transmitter is often larger (e.g., in the form factor of a set-top box), and connects to the source device that provides the content. The receiver is often smaller (e.g., in the form factor of a dongle), and connects to the display device that displays the content. Example wireless connector protocols include the Wireless Home Digital Interface (WHDI™) protocol, the WirelessHD™ protocol (also referred to as the WiHD™ protocol), the WiGig™ 802.11ad protocol, the Miracast™ protocol, the Wireless Display (WiDi™) protocol, and the AirPlay™ protocol. Notably, wireless connectors transmit the full media signal, which includes both video and audio signals.
Another type of device used in home entertainment environments is wireless speakers. In general, wireless speakers receive the input audio signal wirelessly, instead of receiving an electrical audio signal via a wire. The wireless speakers may be a single device (e.g., a sound bar) or multiple devices (e.g., center, left, right, left surround, and right surround speakers), and may output one or more audio channels (e.g., stereo, 5.1 surround, etc.). Wireless speakers often connect to the audio source via a Bluetooth™ connection, a WiFi™ connection, or proprietary connections (e.g., using other radio frequency transmissions), which may (or may not) be based on WiFi™ standards or other standards.